I’ve heard that seimitsu levers input diagonals more consistently. With my sanwa, I find that I sometimes accidentally input a cardinal direction instead of a diagonal (for example, inputting 2 or 6 when I meant to do 3) if I’m just the slightest bit off. If you have experience with BOTH Seimitsu and Sanwa levers, please leave your thoughts.
Yes and no
The Sanwa JLF is good stick for fighters as it has the right level of accuracy and looseness. It is a forgiving joystick.
The smaller/more compact Seimitsu joysticks got a smaller throw than the JLF and has a tighter response. Seimitsu joysticks are a favorite of Shmup players. But, you have to have your move execution on point, as it’s that response and it magnify any of your bad executions.
Overall the takeaway here is that there no one joystick that fits every for anything.
There a dozen or so threads like this, my all around go to is ether the Seimitsu LS-40 or the Sanwa JLW. Some people prefer Korean style joysticks, and there those who prefer the US/European style.